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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. § 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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THE 



MIND AND THE HEART 



THE 



MIND AND THE HEART 



FRANKLIN W. FISH. 



n'j £?£ ; rt aoi ueXei 6i. 



■1 





NEW YORK: 
ADRIANCE, SHERMAN & CO., 

No. 2 ASTOR HOUSE. 
1351. 



7^ 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by 
FRANKLIN W. FISH, 
in the Clerk's Ofl5ce of the District Court for the Southern District of Ne«- Yorl 



R. Craighead, Printer and Stereotyper 
112 Fulton street. New York. 



CONTENTS. 








Page 


Blessed are the Dead, 1 


Be ye Men, 






4 


Farewell to the Land, . 






6 


Work to-day, .... 






18 


A Wish, 






21 


! Droop not, my Brothers, 






25 


The Parting Spirit, 






27 


Mary Queen of Scots, 






30 


To Robert Cochran, Esq., . 






34 


Carl P ., or Twenty Years Ago, 






35 


The Stranger Bird, 






41 


Boat Song, . . , . . 






43 


The Gap of Dunloe, . 






45 


Thy Love, like a bright Angel, 






48 


The Old Man's Tear, . 






51 


! Say, are Flowers blooming yet ? 






54 


The Old Elm Tree, 






56 


To L ., 






59 


Legend of the Conquest of Spain, 






61 


The Grave by the Sea-Shore, 






65 


Gertrude's Lament for Ophelia, 






70 


The Faded Rose, 






72 



i tUratinii. 



JOHN SWINBURNE, A.M 



I DEDICATE this volume to you, as a return for the many 
kindnesses you have bestowed upon me, as an evidence of 
that affection I have always professed to you, in private I 
own it is wholly thine, nor in public am I ashamed to 
testify it. You are too well aware at what period of my 
life these were composed, to need mention of it now ; but 
that severe old step-mother, the Public, may judge them 
as the productions of a man, and pass her criticism from 
such an opinion. They were written about my eighteenth 
year, and no doubt abound in defects, arising from want of 
practical knowledge of the world. These however I trust 
will be overlooked, from the consideration that they are 
juvenile. Many faults of language and rhythm may leave 
unprotected spots for the shaft of the reviewer ; it may be 
his desire and aim to convert and anatomize it into prose^ 
to distort words into trash, and meaning into bombast. 
He may take advantage of that unpardonable weakness — 
being young. But the future will determine, and posterity 
will decide when the influence of the person has departed 
from amongst us. It is my desire^ as it is my attempt, not 



Xa DEDICATION. 

to create an American literature, but to assist it, and not to 
be content, as we have been, only to reflect the literary 
splendor of England. Our country abounds in beauties 
for the poet and the novelist, but no other land under 
heaven is less the subject of fiction or romance. It may 
seem egotistical in me to imagine I can at all influence the 
public taste, but as the widow's mite was not of old 
refused, I hope my trifling contribution may not now be 
rejected. 

With my best wishes 

I remain ever your obliged, 

Franklin W. Fish.. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART 



BLESSED ARE THE DEAD. 

A FUNERAL CHANT. 

Blessed are the dead ! for ever 

They are gone and are at rest ; 
All their toils and labors ended ; 

They are quiet and are blessed. 
Then mourn for him that liveth, 

Him that plods in travail sore ; 
Blessed are the dead that sleepeth, 

Blessed are they evermore. 
1 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Weep for him that in hfe's journey, 

Is much tempted and beset ; 
Weep for him by friends forgotten, 

Weep for him whom all forget. 
Weep for him, whom care and sorrow 

Tosses hopeless on the shore ; 
Blessed are the dead that sleepeth, 

Blessed are they evermore. 



Weep for the poor and needy, 

The down-trodden and oppressed. 
The long- tried and heavy-laden, 

The bone-wearied and distressed. 
Weep ! for the dead return not. 

And their requiem is said ; 
Weep ! weep ! weep on for ever. 

For the living, not the dead. 



Weep ! for the bride just wedded. 
Since her cares shall now prevail 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Little joy shall bless her moments ; 

For her sorrows weep and wail. 
For her pains her hours of anguish, 

For her happy dreams now o'er ; 
Blessed are the dead that sleepeth, 

Blessed are they evermore. 



Weep for your new-born children, 

Ere the race of life is run, 
Ere their breathings cease for ever, 

And life's recompense be won. 
Weep for your bright-eyed maidens. 

Theirs is a way of gloom; 
More happy the departed 

That are silent in the tomb. 



Weep for yourselves and wail ye, 
Let the winds your dirges keep — 

Blessed are the dead that sleepeth, 
Blessed are the dead that sleep. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART, 

Weep ! weep ! but be undaunted, 
Till this struggle shall be o'er ; 

Blessed are the dead that sleepeth, 
Blessed are they evermore. 



BE YE MEN? 

O ! SEVER the chains that enthrall you, 

Arise ! will ye never be men ? 
O ! burst from the tyrants that gall you. 

And strike for your freedom again. 
Up ! break from the bondage of fashion, 

And tear from the shackles of form 
That stifle our love's purest passion, 

And chills the young heart that is warm. 



Away ! with the fictions of story, 
That say but the noble are great, — 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 5 

The honor of man is his glory, 
And goodness is better than state. 

Arouse ! from the vain dreams that bind you ; 
Rise up like the waves of the sea, 

Burst forth from the rich ones that grind you ; 
God made you unfettered and free. 



O ! say not that money is power. 
Or dignity dwells with the vain — 

Assert this great truth — 'tis your dower- 
Man's nobleness lies in his brain. 

Arouse ! ye oppressed and forsaken, 
Arise ! at your liberty's call — 

The pillars of Pride shall be shaken, 
The palace of Vanity fall. 



Then sever the chains that enthrall you. 
Arouse ! will ye never be men ? 

O ! burst from the tyrants that gall you, 
And strike for your birthright again. 



6 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Be ye men and thus suffer oppression ? 

In vain ye each other condole, 
In supineness is deepest transgression, 

And action's the strength of the soul. 



FAREWELL TO THE LAND. 

Farewell to the hopes of a land where no 
longer, 
Integrity, Honor, and Justice exist, 
Where the will of the weaker must bow to 
the stronger. 
And destruction stands foremost on anar- 
chy's list. 



Farewell to the land where no longer elated 
By visions of greatness and fame to be won, 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 7 

The peasant is crushed, trodden-down, and 
degraded, 
Like the beast of the field when his labor 
is done. 



O! what though they tell you 'tis idle to 
tremble, 
That stronger each day grow the bonds 
of your state ; 
'Tis little ye know how your leaders dis- 
semble, 
And party subserves to the rich and the 
great. 



O ! be not deceived by the tale of your glory, 
Or destiny, over which Providence rules, 

O ! be not beguiled by the factionist's story. 
Who calls "you the people," but thinks 
you the fools. 



8 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

And freemen no longer ; though loud every 
hour, 
Ye denounce and decry the foul name of a 
crown, 
O ! say is it freedom where riches and powei% 
And envy and scorn keepeth industry 
down ? 



Aye ! what though your banner, the emblem 
of heaven, 

Has known no disaster and seen no defeat. 
In vain do ye boast of its stars angel-given. 

If trampled and soiled at a partisan's feet, 

O! woe to the country — no wonder dis- 
traction, 
Disunion, and discord, disturbeth the state. 
Where the balance of Justice is held by ai 
faction, 
That ever is swayed by the voice of the 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 9 

Farewell to my country ! guard well while 
you cherish 
That banner once waving o'er tyranny's 
pall, 
Lest frenzy and ruin shall laugh while ye 
perish, 
And Honor and Truth shall weep over 
your fall. 



10 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



O ! SPURN NOT THE POOR. 

O ! SPURN not the poor though in tatters and 

rags, 

They weeping may stand at your door ; 

God's stewards are those who have riches 

and gold, 

God's children, the hungered and poor. 

Though poverty crushes and famines oppress, 

His hand still o'ershadows them all ; 
And those that despise them he never will 
bless. 
Nor hear though for mercy they call. 



Be kind to the wanderer unaided, alone, 

He steers through life's tempest and storm, 
The piercing wind blows through his thin 

threadbare clothes. 
That scarcely can cover his form. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART, H 

O! shelter the wanderer — and then when 
despair 
Or misfortune shall blight thy career, 
God surely will help thee and give thee his 
care, 
And thou shaJt have nothing to fear. 



Be gentle, be kind — thou hast riches enough ; 

Then give of thy bountiful store ; 
Or if nothing thou hast, but a blessing bestow, 

And the beggar will ask for no more. 
God bless you — how oft to the poor broken 
heart, 

Has that word given happiness yet ; 
And God in his bounty, whoever thou art, 

That blessing will never forget. 



12 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



MY FATHERLAND. 

My Fatherland ! my Fatherland ! 

To me thy homes are dear ; 
The little rippling rivulet, 

That sparkles bright and clear ; 
Thine old majestic mountains, 

With their bright white caps of snow ) 
And the ever-running fountains, 

Wildly singing as they flow. 



My Fatherland ! my Fatherland ! 

Mine own true native clime, 
Where fought and died my fathers, 

In the mighty olden time ; 
O ! prouder be thy fair homes, 

Than Peruvia's sands of gold, 
For dying patriots hallowed our's 

With blood in davs of old. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 13 

Though o'er the world's broad surface, 

My wandering steps may roam, 
My heart shall ne'er forget the spot 

I call my native home — 
That spot ! although it be a dry 

And barren spot of earth, 
How would 1 love each mossy crag — 

The home that gave me birth ' 



Columbia ! Columbia ! 

Thy name's enchanted tone, 
Is proudly heard in every land 

Where liberty is known ; 
Thy old majestic mountains 

With their bright white caps of snow, 
And the ever-running fountains, 

Wildly singing as they flow. 



14 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



FAINT NOT. 

One evening by the fire, 
Sat I in my easy chair, 

Filled with aspirations higher 
Than the empty hopes of air. 



Thoughts of mighty, grand achievements 
Swept across my dreaming mind, 

How, unchained by earth's bereavements, 
We must leave all dross behind. 



Long had I toiled — unkindly 
Heaven seemed unto my fate, 

I had labored ever blindly. 
Rising early, resting late. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 15 

When I heard a voice behind me, 
Saying thus unto my soul, 
" Son of man — I must remind thee, 
Life is not thine only goal. 



" All are travelling — idly straying, 
O'er life's wild and varied waste, 
Some are working, some are playing, 
Some are honored, some disgraced. 



" All the self-same mark pursuing — 
To the cold and silent grave. 
Some for future fame are doing 
Actions bold and actions brave. 



All are struggling on for honor, 
Though they find it hid in pain, 

Some are warring with dishonor, 
Some are toiling with the brain. 



16 THE MIND AND THE HEART, 

" All at length shall be rewarded, 
For the good or evil done ; 
Be not faint or broken-hearted, 
'Till thy recompense be won. 



Up ! up ! be onward pressing, 
With the powers of thy mind ; 

There are wrongs that need redressing, 
Wrongs of all the human kind. 



" Wrongs that cry aloud to heaven, 
Wrongs of people and of state. 
Wrongs of many famine-riven — 
Creatures cheated by the great. 



• Up ! up ! thy soul releasing. 
He that wishes to be great 

Must be toiling, never ceasing. 
Rising early, resting late." 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 1*7 

Now thus to kinsmen, neighbors, 

I my vision do impart, 
But to cheer them in their labors, 

But to make them stout of heart ; 



That while honor fame pursuing, 
Every one must learn to wait — 

Ever toiling, always doing. 
Rising early, resting late. 



18 THE MIND AND THE HEART, 



WORK TO-DAY.^ 

Work to-day and rest to-morrow ; 

Now be ready for the strife ; 
Give not up to care and sorrow, 

But press steadfast on through life. 



Though thy mornings dawn in anguish, 
And your noondays clouded are, 

Let not once your labor languish. 
Struggle till the evening star, 



Till the star of evening rises, 
And the light of day be past ; 

Give not up to vain surmises, 
Lest to-day should be your last. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 19 

Let the right your cause embolden, 
Firm and steady be thy tread — 

Thou art seeking prospects golden, 
God is watching thee o'erhead. . 



Let each word, each thought, each action, 

Be the purest and the best ; 
Then with true self-satisfaction. 

Shall thy parting hour be blessed. 



O ! Poet that art toiling 

In the golden walks of rhyme, 
Let not baser passion soiling, 

Lure thee to the deeds of time. 



Thou art sent upon God's mission, 
To prevent the cause of wrong, — 

Then let thy high commission 
Animate and light thy song. 



20 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Fear not — but be onward moving 
Steadfast, surely to the end, 

Every petty vice reproving, 
Every injured one defend. 



Not with sword or steel contending, 
But with mightier arms of mind, 

Let thy labor be unending, — 
To all prejudice be blind. 



Then, oh ! Poet, all thy labors 
Will success and fame attend ; 

Him that benefits his neighbors, 
God will prosper in the end. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 21 



A WISH. 

« Give me but 
Something whereunto to bind my heart." 

Give me not golden gems from India's shore, 

Or diamonds from Golconda's fairy mine; 
Give me but something, I forever more 

Can love — some gentle ray on me to shine ; 
Give me but something that can fix my heart, 

And tempt it from earth's low and baser 
things ; 
Give me some object to adore apart 

From those that soil the spirit's angel- 
wings, 



Give me not treasures many long for here. 
Of wealth and lands and things that fade 
away, 



22 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

But one fond soul to render tear for tear, 
That I may love for ever and for aye. 
Give me some one to teach my care-worn 
soul, 
What 'tis to live, how better 'tis to die ; 
Give me some one life's tempest to control, 
And like a balm to soothe each broken 
sigh. 



Give me not angels' love to clasp me here — 
They are immortal while I change and 
die — 
Give me not spirits from some higher sphere. 
To cheer me with the raptured fervor of 
the eye. 
Give me some kind, congenial, loving one. 
That I may cast my heart-strings round 
and hold ; 
Give me some hand, that when life's labor's 
done. 
May lay my cold form in its brother mould. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 28 

Give me not fame, it is an idle breath ; 

And what was hfe when life itself is past ? 
What is the present being after death ? 

And what the future ? sternest but the last. 
What are they all ? what man's eventful life, 

But a vain seeking for some dread un- 
known ? 
A vast eternity must close the strife, 

And man goes forth unnoticed and alone. 



Give me not praise of men for earthly deeds, 

I ask not glory, or that bubble fame — 
Give me but hope— 'tis all my spirit needs, 

And honor sinks into an empty name. 
Give me some friend — no ! friendship is too 
cold, 
And fades too soon — but give ! ah give 
me love ; 
Some one to love me when my brow grows 
old, 
Some one to guide me to my rest above. 



24 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Give me not that which ties my soul to earth 
And bids it cherish this poor fading clay ; 
Give me not sounds of joyfulness and mirth, 
For they have drawn my thoughts too oft 
away. 
Give me but something I can love and bless— 
Something to cling to on this dreamy 
shore ; 
Give me some spirit full of gentleness, 
And truth, and hope— I ask for nothing 
more. 



Give me but something I can cling to here, 
Something whereunto I can bind my heart, 
Something to make each blessing doubly dear. 
Something to calm each pain or tortured 
part. 
Give me but something like myself^some 
one, 
Whose breast can bear my sorrows as her 
own ; 



THfi MIND AND THE HEART. 25 

Give me some one who, when life's labor 
done, 
Can guide me homeward, wayward wan^ 
derer home ! 



O! DROOP NOT, MY BROTHERS. 

O ! DROOP not, my brothers ! methinks a clear 

voice 
Is cheering us onward — arise ! and rejoice, 
A sound of sweet music, of melody's strain, 
Breaking forth in the evening and morning 

again. 



O ! droop not, my brothei-s ! soon night will 
go down, 

And bright morning succeed to its care- 
bringing frown ; 
2 



26 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

O ! droop not, my brothers — march onward 

with might, 
Be steadfast in truth, and be fearless in 

fight. 



For ever ! for ever ! oh linger not here, 
Every hour of life, every moment is 

dear ; 
Then arise, oh ! my brothers, press onward ! 

press on ! 
Be ye never dismayed till your laurels are 

won. 



Delude not your mind with desire of gain, 
There are objects more mighty and grand 

to obtain ; 
Then up ! and be doing, each one with his 

might, 
Be steadfast in truth, and be fearless in 

fight. 



tttE MIND AND THE HEART. 27 

Not for gold or for gems, for they clog up 

the brain, 
They often bring joy but more often bring 

pain ; 
But struggle to aid the grand triumph of 

right, 
Be steadfast in truth and be fearless in fight. 



THE PARTING SPIRIT. 

t wish you could have seen the calm, placid look, that 
rested on her countenance, after having summoned us all 
around her, she took her last farewell, previous to her 
departure from this world. " I am going home !■' said she ; 
*• Then why do you weep ? must we not all die ?" Some 
one asked her if she wished to send any parting word to 
the absent ones — she merely replied : " Tell them I hope to 
meet them in heaven." I asked her, had she anything to 
say concerning her funeral — raising her dying eyes to mine, 
she answered me — " I wish you would place these two 
Words upon my tombstone — Remember me." She asked 
me to bear you this faded rose, which I have accordingly 
done. Then folding her hands meekly over her breast, 
yielded her pure spirit to the God who gave it. — JSlanuscript 
Letter. 



28 THE MIISTD AND THE HEART. 

Farewell ! sweet friends, farewell ! no more 
Can sorrow cloud the sunny skies 

Of that pure land, where after death 
The spirit to its confine hies. 



I'm going to my distant home, 
The spirit land, where angels go ; 

O ! could my heart find utterance now^ 
To tell you all the bliss 1 know. 



Methinks that voices, near me now, 
Bid my w^orn soul no more to roam ; 

There's music in their seraph tongues, 
That seems to chant "Come home ! come 
home." 

**Come home, worn wanderer ; cease to stray ; 
Come home, for thee a rest is given ; 
Eternal rest from toil or care. 

Enduring rest or bliss in heaven." 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 29 

Farewell ! sweet friends, farewell ! but oft 
When sunlight fades upon the sea, 

Or casts its mellow radiance round 
The quiet earth, Remember me. 



And should you stand beside my grave, 
To wet with tears my memory — 

Cast o'er the past, the treasured past. 
One thought of love. Remember me. 



But place no marble o'er my dust, 
No epitaph for men to see ; 

But two small words as all I ask, 
Two simple lines. Remember me. 



30 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, 

ON THE MORNING OF HER EXECUTION. 

What holy thoughts are resting in thy pure 

unsullied breast, 
As by thy maiden's trembling hands thy 

form for death is dressed ? 
What noble aspil-ations, of some high and 

better land, 
Are casting blessings o'er thee as thou silently 

dost stand ? 

O ! say what cares have furrowed such deep 
marks in thy brow. 

Or who could cast suspicion on one inno- 
cent as thou ? 

Alas ! we know that merit calls the curse of 
envy down. 

And heavy grows the heart of one that wears 
the royal crown. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 31 

O ! could Loch Leven once have known that 

pure one within, 
She ne'er would have unbarred her gates to 

let the spoiler in ; 
But proudly would each turret to its last thy 

cause defend, 
And every mute stone from the wall become 

a Hving friend. 

What ? goest thou thus forth in state, as on 

thy bridal day 
Thou moved'st round a noble Queen amid 

the rich array ? 
Why should 'st thou seek a moment here thy 

fleeting life to save ? 
Thou art stepping into heaven through the 

threshold of the grave. 

Though friends are weeping by thee, thou 

alone art tearless now ; 
Unruffled is the splendour of thy high and 
noble brow- — 



82 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

And a proud majestic grandeur robes thy 

pale face with a bloom 
That shows how Faith, and Hope, and Love, 

survive beyond the tomb. 

Is there no tremor thrilling through that 
frail and fragile form ? 

Does it not bend as doth a reed before the 
rafxinor storm ? 

Is there no chill upon the warm^ fresh cur- 
rent of thy heart ? 

Do not thy red lips blanch with fear, or pulse 
convulsive start ? 

O ! when we saw her on her knees before the 

small cross pray, 
To God who giveth life to- all, and taketh it 

away ; 
How high our hearts beat once to strike for 

thee a single blow. 
Ere yet thy spirit fled unto the land where 

all must go. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 33 

And when she turned her gentle eyes and 

blessed both friend and foe, 
The hard heart wept that years long since 

had ceased a tear to know ; 
And many a bosom heaved and swelled, 

oppressed with sorrow sore ; 
And many a lip was moved in prayer, that 

never prayed before. 



Full sad and sorry was the sight, a mournful 

thing to see — 
And God forefend that ne'er again another 

such may be ; 
For manly cheeks turned white with fear 

and dread at that dark scene, 
When lifeless fell the headless corpse of 

Scotland's murdered Queen, 



2* 



34 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



TO ROBERT COCHRAN, ESQ. 

As one who, often in the silent night, 

Hears some remembered voice around his 
bed. 

And starts ! and listens ! as his memory flits 
In kindly sorrow o'er the bm'ied dead. 



As one would hear that well-known voice 
again, 
But ah ! it comes not ; or in some lone 
place. 
Gazes on pictured forms before him drawn, 
And reads a lifetime in each quiet face. 



So may'st thou in these fancied flights of 
mine, 
Hear the mute converse of my early years ; 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 35 

And gazing o'er each page may trace th 
past, 
The bygone past, in all these smiles and 
tears. 



So may they tell thee all the absent one 
Would send to thee — what gladness o'er 
him shines — 
What sprrows cloud — what mists obscure 
the light 
Of him who penned these few and fleeting 
lines. 



CARL P- 



OR TWENTY YEARS AGO. 



Do you remember w^hen we strayed ? 

'Twas many years ago ; 
Adown Loch Mary's grassy glade, 
To watch sweet Eben flow ; 



36 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

And how we culled each wild heath-flower. 

That blossomed far below 
Old Cara's wild majestic steeps^ 

Some twenty years ago. 



How fresh my memory glideth back, 

Methinks I see them still ; 
The old gray church, the rustic graves. 

The school-house on the hill. 
The threshold-stone beside the door, 

With footsteps worn so low ; 
Where you and [ together sat — 

'Twas twenty years ago. 



The old oak tree, whose spreading limbs 

In sport we used to climb, 
Or in whose shade we'd often lie. 

In sultry summer time ; 
And fast asleep we'd sometimes fall, 

'Till summoned by the bell, 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 37 

To wake hand clasped in hand, for then 
We loved each other well. 



Do you remember too, the well. 

The old moss-girded well ; 
How many t^les its moistened sides 

Of boyish glee could tell ? 
When roguish eyes, or laughing lips, 

Would plot some wanton sport ; 
How little dreamt our beating hearts 

How soon we would be caught. 



Or when on some fair holiday, 

In lightsome, gamesome mood, 
Our drink was of the crystal spring. 

That bubbled in the wood — 
Or rambling o'er the mountain sides 

With light hearts warm and free. 
To chase the trout down through the brook. 

Or squirrel up the tree. 



38 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Or when your arm, more bold than mine, 

Would climb some high ascent, 
I'd hear your loud laugh ringing come, 

To cheer me as I went. 
O ! many, many merry days 

Have we passed, you well know, 
In early boyhood's happiest hours, 

Some twenty years ago. 



We little thought of toil or pain, 

When you and I were boys ; 
We had so many little cares, 

So many little joys ; 
But we have parted — you and I 

Are on the stream of life ; 
And Cara too, your little friend, 

I hear is now your wife. 



Do you remember, Carl, how once, 
We sauntered down the lane, 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 39 

That led unto that little spot, 

The lone tree on the plain — 
The elm-tree, where to meet a friend, 

We ran that little race, 
And came all breathless at our first 

And earliest trysting-place. 

Perchance you have forgotten now. 

But I can ne'er forget, 
I often think of all our sports, 

And dream I see them yet ; 
And sometimes too, I wander there, 

And wish that there could flow 
Down Eben's stream as happy joys, 

As twenty years ago. 

Do you remember Kate — the lone 

White lily of the plain? 
Whose bright blue eyes seemed love's own 
light— 

We never met again ; 



40 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

And Mary, too ! whose smiles once pleased 

Our boyish fancies so, 
The young rose bud, that bloomed so sweet, 

Some twenty years ago. 

Ah me ! we laid her in the tomb, 

'Twas on the first of May ; 
A. fitting time a bud so sweet 

Should fade and pass away. 
We placed a stone above her head, 

Her resting place to show, 
And left her lying with the dead, 

Some twenty years ago. 

And me ! you still remember me, 

That little romping boy ? 
With whom you spent so many days. 

And found so much of joy. 
Ah, yes ! I know you'll ne'er forget, 

But when I'm dead you'll go 
And weep to think upon the past, 

And twenty years ago. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART, 41 



THE STRANGER BIRD. 

She sat beneath the beechen shade, 
Throughout the long, long day, 

She warbled forth no cheerful note. 
Lone wanderer of the way ; 



But when the last faint set of sun 

Sank fading in the west, 
And earth and sky in one grand blush 

Proclaimed how they were blest ; 



She sang a long, deep plaintive song. 
So pure, so clear, so sweet. 

As if a strain from heaven fell. 
All thrilling at my feet. 



42 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

One fairy note, a note of love, 
So blithely, brightly gay, 

And died as if her own sweet voice 
Had sung her soul away. 



And long around that quiet spot. 

Beside the purling rills, 
Methought that while I wandered there 

I heard that birdling still. 



Yes ! sometimes now in sorrow's hour, 

I catch its magic strain ; 
And startled from my dreary mood, 

Grow blithe and gay again. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 43 



BOAT SONG. 

Cut her loose ! let her floats' 

On the clear silver tide ; 
Bear a hand ! bear a hand ! 

Let the waves take their bride- 
Once more boys ! again boys ! 

She speeds o'er the wave, 
As swift as an eagle 

Through heaven's concave. 



Wear away ! wear away ! 

For yon green circled isle ; 
How proudly she floats 

To that moss-covered pile — 
How mildly she kisses 

The waves with her prow ; 
May our lives, graceful barque, 

Glide as gaily as thou. 



44 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Unfurl our bright banner ! 

Let it stream on the air, 
Like a guardian angel, 

To watch o'er us there. 
We're afloat — bear away. 

Though the night falleth fast, 
Be it ever so dark, 

'Twill be morning at last. 



Pull away at your oars. 

Now the glad waters glide, 
Brightly glancing — swift dancing- 

Along our boat's side. 
Now rise on your oars ! 

Together ! away ! 
Once more boys ! again boys ! 

Away boys ! away ! 



THE MlND ANt) THE HEART. 45 



THE GAP OF DUNLOE. 

O ! SWEET be the glades of the evergreen isle, 
Its valleys, its heathers, its mountains of 
snow — 
But sweeter that spot that is hallowed by 
love, 
Where I spent my young days by the gap 
of Dunloe. 



Yes ! India may boast of her cinnamon 
groves. 
Her vales where the fairest of flowerets 
grow ; 
But never a place was so dear to my heart, 
As the home of my birth by the gap of 
Dunloe. 



46 THE MIND AND THE HEART, 

When I stood on the mount with my dog by 
my side, 
And saw the fierce torrent pour rapid be- 
low, 
I ne'er will forget the proud thrill of my 
soul, 
As I gazed with delight down the gap of 
Dunloe. 



And oft in the morn when the sun from the 
East, 

Empurpled the ruins of old Aghadoe ; 
I stole from my house on the heather away, 

To hear the birds sing by the gap of Dun- 

lOG. 



Above me the rough rocks loomed threaten- 
ing and wild ; 
The vale of Comme Dhuv darkened far 
down below : 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 47 

Terrific and grand was the scene I beheld, 
As in wonder 1 gazed down the gap of 
Dunloe. 



All nature seetned gathered in grandeur 
sublime ; 
Its memories haunt me wherever 1 go : 
Like the magical spell of some mystical 
dream, 
That I had in my youth of the gap of 
Dunloe. 



O ! blessed be thy name ! though 'tis free- 
dom's no more, 
And the strength of the people is fallen 
and low ; 
There still are stout arms and brave hearts 
living yet, 
By the steeps of Glena, and the gap of 
Dunloe. 



48 TfiE MtND AND THE HEART. 



THY LOVE LIKE A BRIGHT ANGEL. 

Thy love like some bright angel has hovered 
o'er my way ; 

It has warmed my soul in sorrow^; it has 
cheered me in decay. 

it has pointed out a haven bright and bliss- 
ful as the sky. 

Where contentment dwells forever, and 
where friendships never die. 



Like a beacon light at midnight, on some 
rugged, rocky shore. 

When tempests howl exulting, and contend- 
ing billows roar ; 

While the sailor gladly hails the lamp, bright- 
beaming o'er the strife. 

So thy smiles I sought to cheer me in the 
stormy sea of life. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 49 

And ever fresh as ever, though there's miles 

between us now, 
Do I think upon the mild air of thy pale and 

snowy brow ; 
On the soft and swimming languor of thine 

eye's angelic beam, 
As they shone o'er me so blandly in the dawn 

of love's young dream. 



In the dawn of fairest childhood, in the morn 

of early youth. 
When my bosom knew no passion — only 

innocence and truth ; 
When the pulse, though young and fresh and 

warm, was free from guilt or stain, 
And the heart light bounded like a steed that 

knows no rider's rein. 



But I see thee now no more, my love ! save 
sometimes in my dreams, 
3 



50 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Thou comest like a spirit, from the moon's 

mild ray it seems ; 
And I clasp thee to my bosom — as oft I did 

before ; 
But wake, alas ! to sleep again and dream my 

dreaming o'er. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 51 



THE OLD MAN'S TEAR. 

I OFTEN think of the past, Mary ! 

The past with its hours fleet, 
That have faded away too fast, Mary ! 

Though sorrow has made them sweet. 
Has time, with his ghding pinion, 

Changed many a friend that was dear ? 
I'll share with thy sorrows and griefs, Mary ! 

I'll weep with thee tear for tear. 



Or has time with a brow of splendor, 

Caused love in thy breast to shine ; 
Or placed in thy bosom so tender 

A memory better than mine. 
But I have grown sadly and sore, Mary ! 

My earliest friends are gone — 
I see their fond looks no more, Mary ! 

Nor call them as once mine own. 



52 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

The grass grows over their graves, Mary ! 

And I weep at the eventide — 
I think of my dream of love, Mary ! 

And mourn that I had not died. 
The early friends of our youth, Mary ! 

Lie silent, and still, and lone. 
And the forms that I valued in truth, Mary ! 

Are under the cold grey stone. 



I often visit their tombs, Mary ! 

And think of the past and you, 
And I weep at the misty twilight, 

Till my brow groweth damp with dew. 
I weep, for the tears will flow, Mary ! 

And they trickle swift and fast 
Down my cheek that long, long ago, Mary ! 

Could bear out the stoutest blast. 



I think of the village church, Mary ! 
Where we oft together sung, 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 53 

Like birds on a Sabbath morning, 

When you and I were young. 
I often think of your voice, Mary ! 

Your voice, like an angel's tongue, 
And I smile, for my happiest hours 

Were with you when we were young. 



Now I have grown weary and worn, Mary ! 

And mine eye is cold and dim, 
But still I can feel the tear-drop, 

At the sound of the evening hymn. 
And now you are chill and cold, Mary ! 

And the clod lies over your breast, 
God bless you in heaven, Mary ! 

For here had'st thou made me blessed. 



54 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



O! SAY ARE FLOWERS BLOOMING 
YET. 

O ! SAY are flowers blooming yet 

By Otontala's stream, 
Along whose shores, I'll ne'er forget, 
A hundred star-springs beam. 
O ! say, my Leila, is it so ? 
Do flowers bloom and breezes blow 
Along that fairy shore ? 



And does the bulbul warble still, 

At eve her tuneful note ; 
On the acacia, by the rill. 
Where golden leaflets float. 
O ! say, my Leila, is it so ? 
Do birds yet sing, and breezes blow 
Along that fairy shore ? 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 55 

And tell me, art thou straying there, 

Beneath that purple shade, 
Of the red rose or lotus-bud. 
And yellow tulip made ? 
O ! say, my Leila, is it so ? 
Dost thou yet stray where breezes blow, 
By Otontala's shore ? 



56 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



THE OLD ELM-TREE. 

My boyhood's days are past and gone ; 

How dear their memories are — 
Like some sweet strain of fairy spell, 

But brighter, holier far. 
My boyhood's home, my boyhood's home 

It almost broke my heart, 
To think that I should leave thee thus ; 

That thou and I must part. 
The world was all so cold and drear, 

It seemed so harsh to me, 
I turned, and shed my parting tear. 

Beneath that old elm-tree. 



'Twas there * saw my brothers play, 
'Twas last upon that spot, 

I took the fondest, dearest look, 
O^ mine own native cot. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 57 

'Twas just at morn, the sun was up ; 

A brighter, lovelier day. 
Ne'er dawned upon a lonely heart, 

Or cheered a wanderer's way. 
I knelt beside that old elm-tree, 

I never saw again ; 
And blessed the home most fervently 

That 1 was leaving then. 



But thou hast passea to stranger hands, 

Another holds thee now ; 
My little ivy-covered home. 

Beneath the mountain's brow. 
The aged tree is still there yet ; 

The birds are e'en now seen, 
To flit among its trembling leaves, 

Or on its branches green. 
But often now I weep for thee ; 

O ! stranger blame me not, 
Since every memory seems to me 

Blessed by that sainted spot. 
3* 



58 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

'Twas there that last I saw thy face, 

My Httle sister Nell, 
Beside the brook, the purling brook, 

That I remember well. 
'Twas there I blessed thee, ere I took 

My long and thorny way ; 
Nor thought ere I came back to thee, 

That thou couldst pass away ; 
O ! then I wished by cares oppressed- 

But, ah ! it may not be — 
That when I died they'd let me rest 

Beneath that old elm-tree. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 69 



TO L- 



One moment of bliss, ere our footsteps are 
parted 

For ever to roam o'er life's troublesome sea, 

One moment of love ere alone, weary- 
hearted 

I seek like a form in a vision for thee. 



Then blame me not yet, though I cull the 
few roses 
That pleasure alluring has cast in my way ; 
Though I seek the fair bower where young 
love reposes, 
And but for a moment would laugh and 
be gay. 



60 ,THE MIND ANDTHE HEART. 

O! long, too, and sadly has anguish and 
sorrow 
.Loomed over my pathway, and moistened 
my eye ; 
I have learned that to-day I must smile, lest 
to-morrow 
I wake from my dream but to sicken and 
sigh. 



Yes ! often when others are smiling around 
me. 
And gladness and mirth has beamed over 
the throng, 
Have I stole forth in grief from the spell that 
has bound me, 
And vented my feelings of sadness in 
song. 



And now I woula smile with the rest, for a 
minute 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 61 

Of friendship like this may soon pass and 

be o'er ; 
While I think that life's sweets are so blended 

within it, 
If it were but a dream, I would ask for 

no more. 



A LEGEND OF THE CONQUEST OF 
SPAIN. 

A BOY stood on high Yuzas' tower, 

That looked along the sea ; 
And by his side an old grey man 

Leaned dark and moodily. 



The sea-gull's screams are heard below ; 
And with the surges roar, 



62 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

Make mournful music as they roll, 
Upon the rocky shore. 

"Cling not to me, my gentle child, 

There is no danger here ;'* 
" But, Father, 'tis a wondrous height, 

Yet do I nothing fear." 

" Look forth, my boy ! what dost thou see 

O'er the blue waves afar, 
Down where that long dim line appears. 
Beneath yon twinkling star ?" 

" Where ? father, where ? methinks I see 
A line across the main, 
That rises from the waters wide ; 
That, father, that is Spain." 



Reach forth thy hand and bless it, child, 
'Twas there that thou wast born ; 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 63 

'Twas there the sun shone clear and bright 
Upon thy natal morn." 

The boy reached forth his hand to bless ; 

He reached them from the wall ; 
Methought I heard a crushing sound, 

Like as a heavy fall. 

Down came Alahor, down the stair, 

But nought a word spake he ; 
The Emir cried, " Is the boy safe ?" 

He answered, "come and see." 

The Emir looked down from the tower. 
The young child's fate to know, 

And saw the form lie on the rocks, 
A shapeless mass below. 

So perished all Count Julian's race ; 
Alas ! that it should be. 



64 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

"Take up the bones/' the Emir cried, 
"And cast them in the sea." 



At length the Emir died ; they say 
A voice cried mournfully, 
" Take up the bones ! take up the bones, 
And cast them in the sea." 



And on his chamber's walls, 'tis said, 
How strange that it should be — 

Was writ in blood " Take up the bones 
And cast them in the sea." 



They laid the Moslem in the tomb, 

But not a rest had he ; 
A horrid form took up his bones. 

And cast them in the sea. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 65 



THE GRAVE BY THE SEA-SHORE. 

[An Irish peasant loses his young and beautiful wife at 
sea, being near one of that sunny cluster of islands in the 
Australian group, buries her there, and is represented as 
pouring forth his grief in the following lament over his lost 
Kathleen.] 

The nignt winds that steal 

O'er the wide rolling wave, 
Shall fan the young flowers 

That bloom on thy grave ; 
And memory shall kindle 

By reverie blessed, 
And hallow the spot 

Where we laid thee to rest. 



O ! saa was my heart, 
When we left thee alone ; 



66 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 

No being around thee, 
No sound but the moan 

Of the bird flying by, 
Or the deep muffled roar 

Of the waves, as they broke 
On the desolate shore. 



O ! the sand that we placed 

On thy beautiful breast, 
Can never disturb thee, 

Or trouble thy rest ; 
While the wild desert flowers 

That wave o'er thy head, 
Are watchers, lone watchers. 

Of the loveliest dead. 



O! Kathleen, I wonder, 
If watching me still, 

Thy spirit is o'er me, 
Heart-broken and chill ; 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 67 

Or if though in heaven, 

Thou too can'st forget, 
Or with eye ever-beaming, 

Art guarding me yet. 



O ! why did'st thou leave nie, 

To die here alone, 
Unaided by kinsman. 

Unfriended, alone ? 
O ! why didst thou leave me ? 

O ! answer me ! say ! 
For thy smiles were the last 

That have brightened my way. 



! why didst thou leave me ? 
To anguish and fears ; 

1 have seen little gladness, 

All sorrow and tears ; 
Not a hand will protect me, 
Wherever I roam. 



68 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



Or give to the heart-broken 
Stranger a home. 



But why should I mourn ? 

Thou art happiest now ; 
A wreath is encircling 

Thy beautiful brow, 
Of flowers, bright flowers. 

That never will fade. 
Though the body is mouldered, 

The flesh is decayed. 



I know thou art happy, 

Yet weep at thy fall — 
Than father, than mother. 

Thou wast dearer than all. 
O ! my heart-strings are breaking, 

And soon I will be. 
My Kathleen, my darling, 

Sweet-resting with thee. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 69 

Though a poor wretched stranger, 

Exposed to the blast, 
I released from my cares, 

Will be happy at last. 
Then resting from toil, love ! 

I trust I may be. 
My Kathleen, in heaven — 

For ever with thee. 



To THE MIND AND THE HEART, 



"GERTRUDE'S LAMENT FOR 
OPHELIA." 

Hamlet, Act v. Scene 1. 

! THAT thou should'st have died ! that thou 

Had'st lonely left us here ; 
Methought thy bridebed to have decked, 

And not have dressed thy bier. 



Sweets to the sweet — Fair maid, adieu ! 

We would not call thee back, 
Thou little know'st the thorns and cares, 

That strew life's sorrowing track. 

We would not call thee back, sweet love ! 

To these terrestrial things. 
Since now we hope thou'rt borne from us, 

Away on angels' wings. 



THE MIND AND THE HEART. 71 

Oh ! little dreamt I that so soon 
Would break thy thread of life ; 

I hoped Ophelia to have called 
My child ! my Hamlet's wife. 



But here in I'lie, we little know 
What fortune may be ours ; 

We grow like violets by the stream, 
We perish like the flowers. 



Farewell, Ophelia ! here on earth, 
To thee her gems are given ; 

We strew thy grave, but pray that thou 
Art watching us in heaven. 



Rest, maiden ! Rest ! in thy deep sleep. 

Untroubled may it be ; 
I may return to thee, but thou 

Canst ne'er come back to me. 



72 THE MIND AND THE HEART. 



THE FADED ROSE. 

Why do I love this faded rose, 

So colorless and sad, 
As if it were some golden gem, 

Or life and beauty had ? 
Why do I fondly to it cling, 

Now its bright hues are gone ? 
Because in its poor heart I see 

An emblem of my own. 



O ! yes, I love this faded rose, 

'Tis sweeter far to me, 
Than all the many tinted flowers 

That bloom beyond the sea. 
And fondly to it do I cling, 

As to some magic spell, 
Because when blooming fair and bright, 

'Twas hers who loved me well. 



